Reginald Rose's Masterpiece: 12 Angry Men

“It takes a great deal of courage to stand alone even if you believe in something very strongly”
The courage to stand up in what you believe in manifests Reginald Rose's masterpiece, 12 Angry Men. This play introduces the audience to twelve men of various upbringings and moral assets. These twelve men, all of which have found themselves in the predicament of jury duty. In this trial however these diverse men develop personal opinions on the edgy accusation of a son versus father murder case. While testimonies of the eyewitness’s are declared in the dawn of the court case, the situation seems quite upfront in favor of holding the son guilty. Without the curiosity of one juror, Juror 8, this deliberation would have lasted a mere instant. Instead, with Juror 8's disbelief in the accused sons intent to kill, the case creates uproar among the rather civilized, uninterested men. The fellow jurors assigned to the case approach the situation at first with a lenience and decide among themselves to claim the son guilty so they can be about there way. Juror 8 saves the boys life, by standing alone against the eleven other individuals of the courthouse and with great courage, for he stood his ground, and would not budge. Despite how disagreeable ones opinion may be, it is the courage and determination to withstand contradiction from the masses, that deserves respect. Twelve men assigned to jury duty against their will find themselves in a claustrophobic room and are asked to create an opinion on the spot and to cast a vote. The opinionated twelve individuals each cast votes, most with the same verdict; guilty. A handful of the jurors are prejudice and judgmental, leading them to believe the boy is guilty without a second thought. Juror 8 stands alone and believes his gut that the boy is deserves a deliberation despite the clear testimonies of the witnesses. Juror 9 however says “It takes a great deal of courage to stand alone even if you believe in something very strongly.” Juror 8 brings to the table a large amount of evidence which makes the other jurors question their first initial thoughts. Three pieces of equal evidence deeming the boys probable guilt: the obscure knife, and the two witnesses. Each of these key facts and pieces of the case were overlooked by the jurors with the exception of Juror 8. At the end of the argument and discussion of the men it was these flaws that led to the belief of reasonable doubt and a verdict of not guilty.
Standing up for what you believe in is what has made this country strive. Across America schools are filling with pamphlets and rallies circulating the idea of standing up to bullies. Modern day bullies manifest themselves in a large amount of ways, with comedy, racism and physical harm. For decades the weaker runts of society have been picked on, every single person in this country has their childhood bully. If not a bully, then a boss at a rough job, a teacher with a bad attitude, or even an alcoholic unloving parent. Years of scrutinizing mental and physical damage take their toll and develop into a recipe for a breaking point. When enough is enough an individual being “picked on” will snap. Snapping at your bully, standing up to them, gaining the courage to tell them to leave you alone. Whether the bully takes your warning as a threat or finally takes you seriously is up to them and their own courage, even the toughest of bullies will realize when they have made an impression, in a sense it is their goal, but in a sense the brave individual has reached theirs. Not backing down is the next step, stating what you believe and standing up for it valiantly. This is how the runts who are picked on have stood their ground for the past decades, but only now has an even larger force stepped in. With bully awareness programs the schools are standing up to the bullies as well backing individuals to small to personally make a stand.
Historically there are many cases where a lesser individual stood up to an over powering, threatening ruler. In the 18th century the American colonists found themselves tormented yearly with unjust laws and acts demanding money they didn't have to spare. With an economy barley holding on and the British Red Coat soldiers staying in colonist's homes due to the Quartering Act, a rebellion soon began to surface amongst the 13 colonies. Starting in Lexington the colonist’s soldiers known as Minute Men armed themselves with rifles and took a stand. They stood for what they believed in, their freedom. Through fighting with great courage and terrific leadership by George Washington the colonists achieved their goal and in 1776 the Declaration of Independence was signed. Their courage and knowledge of the injustices committed against the people led to their victory and our country’s freedom we know today.
This play shows it audience that although some of us have different and sometimes conflicting views, respect and appreciation of other opinions must be prominent. We can attempt to veer others opinions to coincide with ours, but over all humanity has the choice to stand up in what we believe in regardless of being the minority, others violent tactics, or what is considered against ones morals. Although it takes an overwhelming amount of fortitude overcoming seemly insurmountable opposition to change other peoples minds. The fundamental theme of this play was said by itself by juror No. 9: "It takes a great deal of courage to stand alone even if you believe in something very strongly."